March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Rory McIlroy told Sports Illustrated
that he made a mistake by pulling out of the U.S. PGA Tour’s
Honda Classic midway through the second round.

The world’s No. 1-ranked golfer had played his first eight
holes at the PGA National course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida,
in 7-over par and informed playing partners Ernie Els and Mark
Wilson that he was quitting after hitting his second shot into a
pond on his ninth hole of the March 1 round.

McIlroy, who was the defending champion at the tournament,
blamed his withdrawal on pain from an impacted wisdom tooth. The
23-year-old from Northern Ireland said in an interview with
Sports Illustrated that he knew within an hour of walking off
the course that he’d made a “reactive decision.”

“What I should have done is take my drop, chip it on, try
to make a five and play my hardest on the back nine, even if I
shot 85,” McIlroy, a two-time major tournament champion, was
quoted as saying by SI.com. “What I did was not good for the
tournament, not good for the kids and the fans who were out
there watching me -- it was not the right thing to do.”

McIlroy told SI that he’d been prescribed a painkiller,
which he didn’t take before the second round at the Honda
Classic, and said he expects to have his lower right wisdom
tooth extracted following the U.S. Open in June.

Dentist Letter

According to tour rules, a player may withdraw because of
injury or other disability that requires medical attention, or
serious personal emergency. McIlroy’s dentist in Northern
Ireland sent a letter to the PGA Tour yesterday describing
McIlroy’s condition with his wisdom teeth, SI.com said.

McIlroy has also said he’s still adjusting after switching
to Nike Inc. equipment from Titleist clubs and balls in January.
He’s scheduled to play this week in the Cadillac Championship,
the second World Golf Championships event of the season.

McIlroy has in recent years struck up a friendship with
former world No. 1 and fellow Nike endorser Tiger Woods. The two
have played together recently and McIlroy said he may need to
better emulate Woods’s tenacity.

“He might be the best athlete ever, in terms of his
ability to grind it out,” McIlroy said, according to SI. “I
could have a bit more of that, if I’m honest.”